A Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is the highest degree awarded by Tel Aviv University. Doctoral candidates are accepted to one of two programs: the regular or direct Ph.D.

The Direct Ph.D. Program is designed for outstanding students (based on criteria defined by the School of Physics and Astronomy) and allows them to enroll in the Ph.D. track during their M.Sc., without being required to write a Master's thesis. Students can be accepted to the Direct Ph.D. Program after the first year of their M.Sc., if they have met the requirements listed in the Regulations section.

Terms of Acceptance:

Students can be accepted to the direct Ph.D. program under the terms detailed in the Regulations section.

Prospective students who work in industry and want to conduct research at their workplace are also eligible. Registration for the program is detailed in the "registration procedure" in the brochure under earning a PhD at an industrail workplace.

Registration procedure

Students must submit the required documents to the Doctoral Student's and Post-doctoral Fellows' secretary, Galia Netzer-Erlichman at: galiane@tauex.tau.ac.il.

The University Ph.D. Studies Committee, based on the recommendation of the School's Ph.D. Students' Committee, will review each application.

Prerequisites:

B.Sc. or equivalent diploma or certificate of graduation, signed by the granting institution (certified copy).

Certified copies of the transcript of the B.Sc. and M.Sc. coursework.

Advisorship certificate from a TAU faculty member who is authorized and willing to serve as an advisor to the Ph.D. student, as well as to commit funds for a fellowship.

Curriculum Vitae

Passport photo

After admission, students are exempt from part of the "additional expenses" of the tuition (students' benefits) by contacting the Tuition Department, Tel: 03-6405555

Course of studies and PhD thesis:

Students must complete 7 semester hours of coursework, as follows:

Students must enroll in and pass two courses, for a total of 6 semester hours before completing the first year of stage II studies, with a minimum grade of 80.

In addition, students are required to attend the departmental weekly seminar, which is credited with 1 semester hour. The students will present their Ph.D. work at one such seminar, and certification will be given by the seminar coordinator.

Course in Academic Writing in English

A course in academic writing in English will open in the second semester of the 2018-19 academic year. This is a 4-hour course, and includes 2 hours of frontal classroom study, and 2 hours of personal meetings with the lecturer. All PhD students must take this course at the earliest date possible after registration.

All stage I research students must take this course. Starting with the second semester of the 2017-18 academic year, students must pass this course in order to become stage II research students. Student who submitted their research proposal in the first semester of the 2017-18 academic year are exempt.

Students seeking exemption from this course must take an exam. Should the results be satisfactory, they will be awarded an exemption.

Students must submit a Ph.D. research proposal no later than the beginning of the 5th semester since the start of their M.Sc. studies and pass a candidacy exam on their proposal. Before submitting their proposal, students must have fulfilled all their academic requirements for the M.Sc.

Students must submit their Ph.D. thesis within 5 years of enrolling as a Stage A student. The Ph.D. students' Committee must approve any exceptions to the timeframes mentioned above.

Student benefits and useful information:

Student card:
After tuition has been paid, a student card will be sent to the student's address as listed in the student records. For more information and additional student services please refer to the Dean of Students website.

Opening an email account:
The University allocates a username and an initial password to each student for identification in online services.
More information on initializing an email account can be found in the Infomation Technology and Computing Division website.

Excellence awards:
At the beginning of each semester, students are encouraged to submit their CV and list of publications to the Ph.D. secretary, for consideration for research awards.

Funding scholarships for travel to conferences:

The University will help fund travel expenses and attendance at conferences, workshops and summer schools in Israel and abroad. Each Ph.D. student may take part in at least one of these activities. Financial support can be up to $1000 (one thousand US dollars).
Scholarship students who have "Kishrei Mada" funds in the University are eligible to use these funds to complement the funds mentioned above, if needed, up to a total of $1500 per trip. Scholarship recipients who make use of their "Kishrei Mada" funding for complementing these funds will not be eligible for additional funding for these expenses.
Scholarship students who do not redeem the rights granted to them in section 13 in the course of their PhD studies, may redeem them for post-doctoral purposes within 12 months of the final approval of their Ph.D. thesis.
For more information please contact Yakira Navaty, the Teaching & Scholarship Coordinator, Tel: 03-6408310 or via email: yakiran@tauex.tau.ac.il.

Funds for printing a thesis:
Ph.D. students receiving a scholarship from the school are eligible for funding support in the printing of their PhD thesis, according to the guidelines issued by the Academic Secretary.
The University will fund printing of up to 10 Thesis copies. Please contact the Print Shop (located in the basement of the Main Library building) at Tel: 8485, for printing the thesis. In addition, please contact the Research Students Department at Tel: 8161 and request a confirmation letter from the University authorizing the printing of the copies.